Organic Taste Experience

Situated about half a mile from my house is a well-known organic grocery store called Earth Fare. I've never had an interest in stopping there...most of the food I currently eat is overly processed and farther from "natural" than most of today's entertainment industry. In fact, most of what I eat could probably last days, maybe weeks without being refrigerated or sealed thanks to preservatives and unnatural yummies.

So when Mike and Whitney suggested we go there for dinner, they didn't see me, but I turned up my nose in the back of the car. Nothing about organic food interests me...not the smell, taste or look of it. I was craving something deep fried and processed and was starving from skipping lunch today, but in the nature of not being a Negative Nancy, I agreed that we could check it out. When Whitney gave me an out, saying "if you don't see anything you like, we can leave," I walked in with the intention of not finding anything appetizing and getting my deep fried happiness afterall.

Whelp...if I could afford it, I'd eat at Earth Fare everyday and make it my regular grocery store. The "Healthy Supermarket" (their words, not mine) had a more-than-appetizing salad bar, a handful of MTO sandwhiches and salads, and every type of cheese I could ever imagine. And it was all organic. The store doesn't sell anything that has artificial preservatives or artificial flavoring and most products don't even have artificial coloring. We walked around for a bit before deciding that we were in fact eating here and made our way to the salad bar.

I settled on the "Say Cheese" which is a grilled cheese with organic American and Cheddar cheeses. I got a side of fruit, made a little side salad and grabbed a bottle of Earth Fare brand raspberry lemonade. Mike and Whitney each had a salad and Mike had sushi while Whit chose a cup of Italian wedding soup. Everything, of course, was organic and crazy delicious.

After dinner, we decided to take a walk around to see what other goodies we could stumble upon. I ended up getting two bottles of wine made with organic fruits and ingredients and a six pack of Carolina Blonde, a light-colored beer from Winston Salem, NC. They grabbed some chocolate milk, a bottle of what I think was a malt liquor beverage and a bottle of wine. Expensive, but worth it, because I just fell in love with the Sangria I picked out.

Not only does the store provide organic foods but they support an organic lifestyle as well. There were a variety of cosmetics and cooking accessories that were made out of recycled or natural materials. The wine bottles all have twist off corks instead of the real corks, because cork trees are endangered and the containers we used for dinner were all biodegradable and recyclable. They don't even offer plastic as an option for your grocery bags. Mike informed me later that they don't like giving you bags at all. They'd much rather you bring your own every time.

It's a little pricey, as eating healthy can often be, but if nothing else, I will be going back for more wine and maybe another grilled cheese. I'm almost mad at myself for being so against it at the start. Here I am preaching about trying new things and expanding my horizons and I was upset about having to eat at an organic grocery store. Lesson learned, and next time I won't be so annoyed by something outside of my comfy little box.

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Time for another shout-ou:

Here is their website if you're interested in checking it out: http://www.earthfare.com/

Their home office is located in the southwest corner of NC near Asheville. Yay for supporting the local market!

It's Official!

Last Friday morning, I went in late to work so that I could get NC plates on my car. I was trying to delay it as much as possible but since my VA inspection was dead, I could either get NC plates or not go back to VA until I did. For a week, it felt like I was literally banned from the state of Virginia.

So as of around 9:30 last Friday morning, I made it official. I checked off everything on the "moving" list that my dad wrote out for me when I moved in. More specifically, I have an NC driver's license, registered to vote and registered my car complete with "First in Flight" North Carolina plates. I officially (legally) belong to the state of North Carolina. (I could return my VA plates to the lovely state of Virginia but I think I'm going to keep them and hang them up in my apartment somewhere. If I move again, I can just keep track of all the states I've lived in!)

To make it even more official, I had my first ever Bojangles experience today.

Bojangles was born and raised in Charlotte, NC and though I've been to North Carolina at least once a year every year of my life, I've never eaten at a Bojangles. When I told my coworkers this, they insisted we go there for lunch today; that and they have an all-you-can-eat lunch special on Wednesdays. I must admit, I was not disappointed. I had chicken, fries, mac and cheese (of course) and a biscuit and it was quite tasty. Very "KFC-like" but just a tad bit better.

So...NC license? Check. NC plates? Check. Bojangles Taste Experience? Check. Home Sweet Home! Not much left to do except figured out where everything else is and try all these hole-in-the-wall restaurants that keep showing up on food network.

Taste of Home

I can't cook. And, honestly, never had a true desire to learn. The closest I ever really get to cooking is boiling water to make my tortellini. I get a little fancy when I add the Parmesan cheese and Mrs. Fields Italian Seasoning, but for the most part, it's kid's stuff.

Being as picky as I am, I never appreciated the art and hard work that went behind the elaborate Thanksgiving meals my grandmother would "throw" together. She has this uncanny ability to make everything finish at exactly the same time and it's timed so precisely that all the food is ready the moment the last person shows up to eat. Her mad skills got passed down to my mother and my aunts but sadly, I think it skipped a generation after that. With the exception of a few dishes, my sisters and me couldn't even pretend to pull that kind of meal together.

Like Origami, "Learn to Cook" is one of the ongoing points on my Bucket List. (FYI - I plan to post the Bucket List here when I feel like it's "ready.") My other grandmother has told me numerous times that "if you can read a recipe, than you can cook." Sadly, the family dishes are more or less in the heads of the people that have been making them forever and are only written down when asked. I'm also in no place to commit the finances or the time into mastering these recipes when I don't even eat most of the food anyways.

Fortunately, baking is something that I'm good at and I enjoy the end product. Over the past year, I've attempted and succeeded in making my mom's pound cake (which starts with three sticks of butter and three WHOLE cups of sugar), homemade pumpkin and pecan pies, and cookies from scratch instead of the ones you buy in the box. My favorite thing to make, however, is the chocolate chip cookies from the Mennonite Farmers Market in Harrisonburg.

 Luckily, I still have connections in Harrisonburg and my BFF Jess was gracious enough to swing by the market and bring me a couple of bags of cookie mix when she visited this past weekend. Since it's not healthy to eat two dozen cookies on your own, I was itching for an occasion to make them. Yay for working in such a huge office with so many people because it literally took one day at work to find a cookie-worthy event.

Thank God I still have friends back in Harrisonburg and have a reason to visit because my life would be incomplete without these cookies. They always turn out great, taste great and look awesome. I've been telling the peeps at work that I was going to make cookies soon and since one of our co-workers starts the first day of his new promotion tomorrow, the timing could not have been better.

I'm not gonna lie when I say that I mostly make cookies to eat the dough. Screw the dangers of eating raw eggs and everything else they say will come out of eating raw baked goods. Our parents did it forever and they turned out fine. I tried one of each and literally congratulated myself...out loud...in my empty apartment. I'm oober excited to take them to work tomorrow.

It's technically baking, not cooking, and the only improvising I did was add extra chocolate chips and sprinkles to their respective cookie flavors. I'm satisfied with the end product and even more satisfied with how awesome they taste despite the fact that they were mostly the work of the awesome women at Grandma's Pantry (that's the name of the food shop in the farmer's market). Baking is one place to start on the road to "Learning to Cook", but I'm not quite ready to tackle some of the family favorites: specifically corn pudding and purple punch. Until then, I have my little Taste of Harrisonburg to get me through until Homecoming weekend.

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And here's my little shout-out: If you're ever in the Harrisonburg area, or are there and have never been, I highly recommend this Farmer's Market. You can get all kinds of mixes, cheeses, jams, syrups and it all tastes exactly how "grandma's cookin'" is supposed to taste.

Here's the website for it if you're interested: http://shenandoahmarket.net/

6 Months Ago

I've made a bunch of life-changing decisions recently that anyone would consider "big," and I've also adapted to a new lifestyle which includes 40-hour work weeks, happy hours and no school work. As I was ironing my clothes this morning for work, I got to thinking about all the things that have changed that aren't so life-changing but are more or less a change in how I do everyday activities. Whether these are necessary side-effects of growing-up or conscious changes towards adjusting to my new life, they were noticeable enough to keep track of.

These are the most notable ones in comparison to where I was in regards to these topics 6 months ago...

1. Ironing my Clothes

I don't find it ironic at all that the idea for this post came during ironing. Because six months ago...I didn't iron anything...ever. I didn't own an iron and can't remember the last time anything I owned was perfectly pressed. I didn't even iron my shirt for my Lowe's interview because, well, I didn't feel like it. (I don't even really buy clothes that you can't "machine wash with like colors" because hand washing and dry cleaning are way too much work.) I'm positive that my grandmother is literally gasping out loud at this revelation and my mother would have my head if she were around to see this happen. 

Regardless, I bought a bottom-shelf iron at Target and a tiny little ironing board a couple of weeks ago and have been ironing my work clothes. Because of logical reasoning I didn't have 6 months ago, I realized it's not professional to walk into a corporate office with wrinkles in your pants.

2. Work Clothes

This seemed like the next logical progression. And one I'm not too happy about. I hate that on my shopping trips, I have to constantly ask myself if what I'm looking at is work appropriate. And for the same reason, I can't bring myself to buy anything that can't be translated into a work outfit. This may be just a sign of growing up or that my wardrobe is taking a turn for the worst, but I can't seem to justify "play clothes" when my "work clothes" need some spicing up.

3. Paint My Nails

I've always gotten pedicures in the summer but now I feel under dressed if my finger nails aren't painted too. I attribute this to two things. First and most important, it's fun! Color is fun and no one can see my toes at work anyways. And second, the JMU concessions Nazi's don't let us have anything on our nails. For the past 6 years, I would paint my nails only to remove it a few days later so my polish didn't end up in someone's food. Probably a good rule and all, but now that I'm not constantly handling people's food, I've brought out the polish collection.

4. Try New Foods

In the past 6 or so months, I have tried Sushi, blue cheese dressing, specialty pizzas and for the first time ever, ate a chicken wing that actually had BBQ sauce on it. My diet has been anything but complete, and anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I still eat like a 5-year-old. So, I've adopted the "try it once" method and am trying everything, well, once. The aforementioned foods have worked their way into my regular diet but there are some that still didn't make it: hummus, eggplants, and spaghetti with meat sauce. I thought maybe with this new mentality they might taste better, but they're still as awful as they were when I was 12. 

5.  Make Lists

Myers-Briggs told me I was a "P" person. I don't make lists as a way to stay organized. Never have. I usually just do things as they come up. But I have invested money in more sticky notes and note pads over the past month than I care to remember. I make lists for EVERYTHING. Grocery store? Yuhp. Things to do at work? You bet. Things I want to buy when I have money? Oh, yes! I even went so far as to put sticky note paper up around my apartment so I can keep track of everything I want to buy for each individual room. I think I've gone crazy a little on that one.

6. Think about the Future

The future stresses me out. I'm an "in the moment" kind of person and past or future thought of any kind makes me queasy. The fact that I even have a five year plan is quite a miracle, but only time will tell if I'll even be able to follow it. My immediate future consists of furniture, maybe a vacuum, a car and a trip to Disney. I still have no desire to own a house or be permanently attached to anything or any location. However, I still find myself thinking about the future a lot and I've realized I need to start planning a little farther ahead than what time I get to sleep until on Saturday.

This isn't a complete list. Just the things I've noticed more recently and keep trying to stop - or not stop. Depending on the day. These little miniscule habits were major enough for me to notice but small enough that they're not affecting the important stuff - like my addiction to Lunchables and Saturday morning cartoons. I guess it's okay to not grow-up completely :)

Origami Update

Great news, Guys. If you flip the fortune tellers upside down, they double as ping pong ball holders. Fun and functional!!

Dog Days

Since I moved, I've been finding where things are in my new home based on necessity. I go out and find things when I need them. The post office, a grocery story, a back way to work, etc. So out of necessity, I went in search for a dog park this weekend or at least a place where Ron and I could go and be one with nature. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mecklenburg County has a ton of dog parks and walking trails.

Ron got pretty used to going to the park a few days a week back at school and we called them play dates thanks to the other 15 dogs involved on various days. I think the move to NC was equally as hard for him because with the exception of our afternoon runs, he wasn't getting nearly as much exercise and I was pretty sure he missed his K9 friends back in Harrisonburg. If I so much as say "Avery" or "Cooper" (his BFFs) he starts barking and running headfirst into the door.

We went to the park twice this weekend and he got to hang out with some other pooches. He was nervous the first day when a sheep dog sniffed him the wrong way but I think he got over it today when Madison showed up. She's a Brittany spaniel (just like Ron), equally as fast and with as much if not more energy. They ran around together for the duration of their visit and he even walked with her to the gate when she was leaving. I think he's in love.

It never ceases to amaze me how dog people relate to each other. It's always "Hi I'm so-and-so, what kinda dog is that?" Then it's story after story of what your dog does and how the other person's does something similar. I guess it's the same when you have kids or in any situation with strangers and you're looking for a common ground. Regardless, with true Southern hospitality, Ron and I were welcomed into the group.

Luckily enough, the dog park is part of a much larger park that's right on the lake. There's a place to launch boats, a few docks, some picnic tables and a bunch of walking trails through the woods. If I wasn't so deathly terrified of snakes we probably would have gone on a little hike through the woods but I refuse to come face to face with a snake alone. I would like to believe that Ron would protect me but he'd probably get distracted by a bird or a falling leaf and it would be game over.

For right now, the necessity part of exploring my new home is working. I plan to get in the car soon and just drive around until I know where everything is. I might wait until Ashley visits and I have a well thought out playlist before I commit to spending that much time in my car with no determined destination. 

Origami - Bronze Medal

If Origami were an Olympic sport and there were only three people competing, I would take home the Bronze. A valiant effort, but not quite up to speed with what is considered acceptable in the paper folding world. This is how it started...

 

Those are those little fortune tellers we used to have in elementary school. The ones that went on your fingers and you spelled words or counted numbers until your fortune was revealed. Well, I made some. A lot of them actually. I have a stack of colored not-sticky sticky notes on my desk that I use to take notes or make to-do lists or doodle with my multicolored Sharpies. I vowed a really long time ago that if I was going to have to act and dress like an adult 40 hours a week, then I would use colored sticky notes in funky shapes and ink pens that are anything but blue or black. When I need something to write on, I choose which color is least represented on my desk at the time.

 Well I had about 11 things on my to-do list as of 8:30 yesterday morning. And at about 2:30 that afternoon, I still had about 10. I was looking up random facts on Outdoor Power Equipment and, being a tad bit stressed out I started subconsciously folding my paper. Just to see if I could still do it, I made a tiny little finger fortune teller. Sometime between 2:30 and 3:30 I had made about 15 more in various colors and still managed to get the research done for snow blowers. All of my coworkers now have a mini finger fortune teller somewhere on their desks.

Fortune tellers are easy. It's the same fold over and over again. Since I'm checking things off of lists today, I decided to check one off my bucket list, too.

Thanks to technology, it took me maybe 30 seconds to find an Origami design I wanted to try. It was a simple butterfly but maybe too simple because I failed miserably and had to start over twice. The colorful striped paper is as close as I got and it looks more like a paper football than a graceful, Japanese butterfly. I switched to a star shape which required me to make 8 different "units" then work them all together. The units posed no problem. 25 minutes later and it started to look like I star but the only way I could make it lock together was to make a tiny little tear in one of the pink pieces so I could make a blue one fit into it. Then, naturally, I made a crane. That one just seemed...appropriate?

 

In honor of the Olympics, I'm giving myself a 8.5 on the Origami. The star turned out kinda cool, the crane had a low level of difficulty, and I'll take an A for effort on the butterfly. Props to the Japanese and their mad paper folding skills. I'm going to attempt something a little harder this weekend and may even go out and actually buy some origami paper and see if that helps (doubt it). Regardless, I'm going to cross it off my bucket list, but not take it off. Thanks to the butterfly, I don't quite see it as "complete" yet.